The present invention relates generally to beverage preparation bags of the type which may be used for brewing or preparing tea, coffee or other hot or cold beverages or the like, and more particularly, is directed to such a beverage preparing bag which includes an enhanced disposal feature.
Beverage bags of the type used for making tea, coffee or other such beverages are generally well known. Although tea bags are referenced throughout the remainder of the present specification, it will be appreciated that the present invention is equally applicable to coffee bags or other porous holders utilized for producing other hot or cold beverages.
A typical beverage bag such as a tea bag is comprised of a porous holder-like structure for housing the tea leaves and a fob, tag, tab or the like attached to the porous holder with a string. In preparing a cup of tea, the porous holder is dropped into a cup of hot water and the tab is draped over the edge of the cup permitting the brewing of the tea to proceed. When the tea has been brewed to the desired strength, the user typically utilizes the tab to lift the porous tea bag out of the cup and, after possibly squeezing additional tea from the tea bag, the user is faced with a problem, what to do with the used tea bag. If the user happens to have a saucer underlying the cup, the used tea bag can be placed on the saucer. With this solution, some of the liquid tea from the tea bag eventually leaks out of the tea bag and into the saucer whereupon it sticks to the undersurface of the cup resulting in a potentially messy situation when the cup is lifted for consumption of the tea. If the user is drinking the tea out of a mug, typically no such saucer is provided and the user is faced with a dilemma with respect to what to do with the tea bag. Typically, the user will either place the tea bag on a napkin or simply place the tea bag on a table or other supporting surface for later disposal. Neither one of these solutions is particularly desirable since neither is terribly attractive and both result in a mess on the table, which eventually must be cleaned up.
There is a need for convenient, elegant solution to the problem of how to depose of a used tea bag in a conventional manner which is not unsightly and will not require additional clean up. The present invention provides an elegant solution to the problem.